Over the past six years, three words have come to dominate any conversation about South African electronic music: Stay True Sounds. Recognised as the biggest independent label in the country and run by the maestro, Kid Fonque, the legacy of this imprint is already evident through the moves it’s making on the continent, changing the lives of the local talent it supports. With the likes of FKA Mash, Dwson, Sio, China Charmeleon and Hypaphonik turning out hit after hit, Stay True Sounds has become the holy grail for house music lovers in South Africa.
In his rebellious teens, Kid Fonque left education to fulfil his dreams of playing music. A stay in the UK when he was 17 enabled him to start a vinyl collection, and he returned to South Africa with a large amount of trip-hop, landing himself a residency at Club 206 in Johannesburg. He had to bring his own sound equipment, but it was essential experience, playing six or seven- hour DJ sets back-to-back with friends.
Hungry to get more involved in the industry, Kid took an opportunity to work at a music retail store. Starting out as a security guard, he began selling CDs on his lunch break, and after impressing management with his sales and musical knowledge, Kid was given a role as a salesperson, which later progressed to working in distribution. This led to the start of a crucial relationship with Harael Salkow and Sergio Botelho, the CEO and managing director of legendary SA label Soul Candi Records. Having worked their distro account, they asked Kid to join the label full-time as a sales manager.
At the time, DJ, producer and label manager Brett Jackson was one of the most influential people at Soul Candi, but when he sadly lost his battle with cancer in 2011, the label was left with a void. Having demonstrated great work ethic, Kid became the new label manager, a position he held until Soul Candi closed a few years later. He had to learn on his feet, and quickly gained knowledge on the business side of the record industry, copyright law and how to run a label. But it was a challenge.
“As Kid Fonque, I believe I represented something very different to the label I was working for,” he says, highlighting the dissonance between the music of his DJ sets and that of his day job.